HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

Title II: Administrative Simplification

Purpose:  To prevent the inappropriate use and disclosure of an individual’s health information, and require organizations which use health information to protect that information and the systems which store, transmit, and process it; and to increase the efficiency of operations through standardization.

Principles:

  1. Consumer control: the right to see, correct, obtain documentation of health information disclosures
  2. Accountability: civil and criminal penalties for violations of privacy standards
  3. Public responsibility: balance privacy with support for public health, medical research, and prevention of fraud
  4. Boundaries: use individually identifiable health information (IIHI) for health purposes only
  5. Security: standards to protect privacy, to monitor the system, and to inform

HIPAA and the University of Iowa

 Section

 Description

 Effective Date

 UI Status

 Electronic Health Transactions

 Standards  

 Standardize format &

 transmission of health

 transactions

 October 2003 +

 Extensions filed for all

 applicable UI units

 Unique Health Identifier

 Standards 

 Standardize identifier numbers

 for providers, employers,

 patients, & plans

 Not Finalized

 Security & Electronic

 Signature Standards 

 Reasonable and appropriate

 safeguards for health related

 information that is housed

 and/or transmitted

 electronically and that pertains

 to an individual

 Uniform format & use of

 electronic signatures, if

 employed

 April 2005

 Not Finalized

 HIPAA Security Policies:

 -Information Security Policy

 -Institutional Data Access Policy

 -Roles and Responsibilities for

 Information Security

 -Backup and Recovery Policy

 Privacy & Confidentiality

 Standards  

 Uniform protection for an

 individual’s right to privacy of

 their health information

 April 2003

 -Privacy Statements

 -UIHC Privacy Policies

 -UI Privacy Officer appointed

Copyright © 2005 The University of Iowa. All rights reserved.